Hypertellurians (M)Anvil Edition

Hypertellurians is a fast roleplaying game of low complexity, but high depth, with engaging character development and story.

The hardcover book is 156 pages long in A5 format, including endpapers with useful reference tables, and a bookmark ribbon.

The PDF is hyperlinked and bookmarked.

More Buying Options

About the Game

In this game the players portray the Hypertellurians: adventuring the length and breadth of the Ultracosm, in retro science fantasy style. Take control of one of six archetypes, and choose or create a unique concept by layering on fun, inventive, and story-driving powers.

Try Hypertellurians if you like:

  • quick character generation, with fast and daring gameplay,
  • compelling and out of this world character powers,
  • natural language rules that put the fun first,
  • an expedition to the Viridian moon in a stylish aethercraft,
  • and science fantasy adventure in the future of old!

Hypertellurians is a stand-alone roleplaying game system, but it is compatible enough with most old or modern fantasy adventure games for the GM to convert modules from those systems on the fly.

Enjoy this lavishly illustrated tome, redolent with adventure, and play as a cursed shapeshifter, the wobbling dead, a pilot from a different time, a galvanic war machine, a sorcerous princess, an excitable half pony, an alien color, or so much more.

👉 While stocks last, all copies of this book come with a free print version the Bewilderment and Panic in the Lands of Faulty Tors pamphlet adventure.

👉 While stocks last, all copies of this book also come with a free bookmark, listing 30 random weird and wonderful items.

Reviews & Testimonials for the (M)Anvil Edition

"Hypertellurians is a stunningly beautiful RPG book. It synthesizes the best of old school principles with new school advances and feels like Oswald Bastable meets Zothique."—Ahimsa (अहिंसा), Twitter

Reviews & Testimonials for the Original Edition

"Hypertellurians is an awesome […] fantasy sci-fi RPG inspired by classic pulp literature! […] This game has a great visual and a cinematic gameplay!"—Diogo Nogueira (Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells), Twitter

"Top 10 RPGs of 2019 - 1.) Hypertellurians: Hypertellurians is the best RPG I’ve read this year. Full stop. It’s exceptionally well-written, well-grounded, thematic, fun to read, and beautifully laid-out and illustrated. It evokes all the great pulpy paperback covers I remember laying around houses when I was a kid (not my house, but houses we’d go to). It’s just peak 70s pulp science fantasy and I love everything about it here. I love this game and it’s now my go-to science fantasy game."—Alan Bahr, alanbahr.net

"I finally got around to reading Hypertellurians by the esteemed @Mottokrosh and co. This strange tome is packed up of sci-fi nostalgic techno-wonder, colourful art and innovative mechanics and ideas. This is a game to which there is no like!! Check it out"—Zachary Cox (SoulMuppet Publishing), Twitter

"[…] reading Hypertellurians from @Mottokrosh It's a thing of solid ecstatic joy. Reading a new RPG should make you smile - make you grin madly at the possibilities it offers. Hypertellurians does just that :)."—@spookshow71, Twitter

"[…] Wow. It is beautiful. The art and layout are stunning and it is all together well written and worth a spot on your RPG bookshelf. […] The traditional number crunching has been simplified a great deal, leaving plenty of space for the game to breathe. […] The focus on exploration and wondrous discoveries is refreshing and a joy to read. 5 / 5"—Geoffrey C., DriveThruRPG

"It's like the sleeve art from the prog rock album that was never made"—Martin Cookson, Twitter

"This game looks fun to play and run. There’s nothing that I found instantly jarring or worrisome in the rules. Whilst reading it, my mind went on some tangents thinking about how I could incorporate x or y. Put all this together in an affordable and, importantly, nice-looking package and you’ve got something definitely worth picking up. I’m certainly going to be roping the gang into giving this a go."—Adam Brown, TableTopGamesUK

Character Sheets

Other Downloads

  • Thumbnail of the rules summary spread.
    1-Page Rules Summary
  • Thumbnail of the book endpapers.
    Endpapers with Quick Reference
  • Thumbnail of 6 pregenerated characters.
    6 pregenerated characters
  • Thumbnail of the Wonder Deck.
    Print & Play Wonder Cards
Changelog

Changelog

The following log pertains to the rules as they developed in the online version.

Date Version Changes
August 20th, 2020 2.0.0 Updated online version to the (M)Anvil Edition
December 3rd, 2019 1.1.0 - Errata: Explain abilities in Core resolution mechanic
- Errata: clarify when to roll critical trauma in the Damage, death, and dying section
April 27th, 2019 1.0.0 - Final v1 game text
- Added all 3 character sheet versions
- Restructured landing page
- Added final cover image
March 8th, 2019 0.9.7 Updated character sheet to v3 (switched armor and defense fields, added duration to Manifest Memory)
January 2nd, 2019 0.9.6 Updated character sheet to v2 (added armor field)
December 29th, 2018 0.9.5 - Changed starting powers to 2 fixes ones, plus 3 advances
- Made powers a subset of advances, and added stat-based improvements as options to advances
- Combined Hard Knocks and similar powers into one single power, with minor, medium, and major versions; included option for light weapons
- Updated and clarified many powers, removed some powers that didn't quite fit
- Updated archetype concepts with changes to starting advances
- Clarified wording in several rules throughout
- Added Lead the Charge Royal power
December 28th, 2018 0.9.0 Created and added proper PDF character sheet.
December 15th, 2018 0.8.0 - Removed proficiences
- Renamed shortcomings to weakness
- Turn Drive into predefined selection with starting items
- Create archetype concepts
- Reworked document structure
- Reworked player character section
- Folded starting ability scores and affinities into concepts
- Adjusted Breadth of Ages and Marvelous adaptation
August 29th, 2018 0.3.7 Clarified use of bags and pouches, and combining multiple small items into 1 slot with a pouch in the Equipment & Inventory section.
August 22nd, 2018 0.3.7 - Tweaked the Royal's Enchanted advance
- Added Noblesse Oblige medium advance, and Terrible Midas Touch major advance to the Royal
- Raised the Ultranaut's Coda advance's Wonder gained from 7 to 10
- Added Metamorphosis Beast major advance
- Fixed several typos
August 5th, 2018 0.3.6 Some graphic design tweaks and improvements.
August 4th, 2018 0.3.6 Tweaked illustration masks, alignments, and shapes.
August 3rd, 2018 0.3.6 Added 7 new illustrations.
July 20th, 2018 0.3.6 - Slightly reworded The Thing at the Doorstep, and Ghost
- Added Take Me to Your Leader medium Ultranaut advance
- Added Hypertellurians submenu to mobile navigation
July 19th, 2018 0.3.5 - Added new general minor advances: A Midnight Dreary, Breadth of Ages, and Color Out Of Space
- New minor Revenant advances: The Thing at the Doorstep, and Play Dead
- New medium Revenant advances: Death Becomes You, and The Quick and the Dead
- New major Revenant advance: Ghost
- Added minor Ultranaut advances: Rock It, The Stars Are Right
July 15th, 2018 0.3.4 - Clarify inventory slots and backpacks
- Add that Perfect Rage inflicts no Mind damage
- Allow for Stat Up advances to reach higher scores
- Allow Toughness, and Mana Pool advances to be taken multiple times
- Add Deft general advances
- Implement new Advancement table
- Reposition and tweak Wondrous Actions
- Add Marvellous Adaptation and Push Fate wondrous actions
July 5th, 2018 0.3.3 Added several new advances for the Construct:
- Kinship
- Lifelike
- Loaded
- Part of the Whole
- Blaze of Glory
- Unexpected Part of the Whole
- Violent Part of the Whole
June 30th, 2018 0.3.2 - Introduced new Advancement system
- Moved Advancement section into Player Characters section
- Updated character sheet and Wonder tracker
- Added hyperlinks to power references in this changelog
- Added Brutal Blow to Wondrous Actions, and clarified section
- Added attached armor tag
- Added Forked Tongue, Murder of Crows to general minor advances
- Added Scribe Spellbook to general medium advances
- Added Sensefull to Beast advances
- Added Bulwark I, II, III, Fateful Decision, Satin Lover, Silken Sway to Royal advances
- Added Ghul Touch, Profane Semblance of Life, Whelming Gaze to Revenant advances
- Various grammatical changes
June 17th, 2018 0.3.1 Added Revenants and Constructs art.
June 13th, 2018 0.3.1 Reworked Obliterator; added Inclusive Phase, Manifest the Bifröst, Mimic advances to the Alien; added Exploit Terminal Velocity, Fall with Grace advance to the Beast; added At Arm's Dibranchiate Length, Bioluminescent, Indefatigable, Phalanx Fighting to general minor advances; Breath of the Mud People to general medium advances.
June 12th, 2018 0.3.0 Added 3 pregens
May 30th, 2018 0.3.0 Core mechanic overhaul and streamlining. Many powers and advances added. Initial public release.
2017 0.2.0 Core mechanic overhaul.
2017 0.1.0 First playtest version.

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